


That Obligatory Holiday Party

by lesbianshadow



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Party, Everyone Is Gay, Except Amy She's Bi, Explicit Language, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Holiday Sweaters, Holidays, Light Angst, This Only Wants to Be Angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 11:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12983319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbianshadow/pseuds/lesbianshadow
Summary: Shadow despises the holidays. All they do is remind him of everything he's lost. But when invited to a holiday party at Sonic's house, he has no choice but to attend and try to find fun.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this last year but didn't finish it in time for christmas so here it is now! enjoy!

Most of the time, the worst memories were the ones that had shaped him into the hedgehog he was today. Shadow was used to dealing with the memories of Maria’s death, so even when they came up, he had a way of at least forgetting them temporarily. Just long enough to get himself somewhere to cope. But the really hard ones were the ones that came from cheerful images. The memories of him and her happy, and realizing that she would never be happy again.

He clenched his teeth and tore his eyes away from the brightly colored holiday display in the middle of the city. It had decorations of every major winter holiday: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, even some he hadn’t heard of before. He guessed it was nice of the city to be inclusive, but that didn’t mean he wanted to see any of it. He sat down on a bench facing away from the display and drank his tea. A blue blur raced past him, the wind ruffling his quills. He sighed as the blur backtracked.

“Hey, Shadow,” Sonic said, sitting next to him. “Moody again?”

“You say that like you’re shocked,” Shadow muttered. He checked the time on his watch. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“Nah. Christmas shopping’s all done, thank god. I was gonna hang out with Tails and Knuckles for a bit, but that doesn’t mean I can’t pay my favorite faker a visit.”

Shadow harrumphed.

“What about you?”

Shadow eyed him. “Waiting for Silver,” he said simply.

“Ooh…,” Sonic said mockingly.

“Don’t be a pervert.”

“It’s my day job, Shadz.”

“I’m here, I’m here!”

Shadow looked up and saw Silver running towards him, carrying an unhealthy amount of shopping bags. “I was out shopping… Lost track of time…,” he stammered, panting. “Sorry…”

“It’s not a problem,” Shadow said, standing up and taking the bags from him.

“Ah, what a noble knight you are, Shadow- _kun_ ,” Sonic teased, laughing.

Shadow glared at him.

“It was worth it, though,” Silver said as he sat down. “I had to get you the perfect gift, Shadow. I really hope you like it.”

Shadow clenched his teeth and looked down.

“Shadow?” Silver asked. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No…”

“Wow, Shadow’s really ungrateful for you, isn’t he, Silver?” Sonic said.

“Shut up, Sonic,” Shadow retorted. “I’m not ungrateful. You couldn’t possibly understand…” He couldn’t finish. As if he was going to willingly tell this faker what was wrong. No one needed to know; he just needed to pull himself together. “I’m fine,” he told Silver, sitting back down.

Silver shook his head. “No, you’re not.”

Shadow closed his eyes. “Damn…” He looked at him. “Really. It’s nothing you need to worry about. I…” As much as Shadow could try and convince him, he knew Silver wouldn’t believe him. And he knew even more than that that Silver would blame himself until he knew the truth. That wasn’t an idea Shadow could stomach, though he wasn’t sure why.

“All right. Fine.” He turned to look at Sonic. “Listen, don’t listen, I don’t care.”

Sonic pursed his lips. “I mean, if you really don’t wanna tell me, I won’t make you…”

“Whatever.” Shadow sighed. “It’s really not a big deal. It’s just… The holidays remind me of Maria. I don’t feel right celebrating without her. Especially when one of her dreams was to celebrate a true Hanukkah with me here on Earth. But it’s whatever, right? Nothing I can do about that.”

He looked at Silver, searching for a reaction. “Shadow…,” he said.

“It’s nothing, Silver.”

“That doesn’t sound like nothing.” He shook his head. “If you really hate the holidays, I’ll return your gift.”

Shadow opened his mouth, but he wasn’t even sure how to respond. He sighed “I won’t make you return the gift if you don’t want to.”

“Are… Are you sure?” he asked. “I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.”

“Like I said, it’s not a big deal.” He stood up. “Wasn’t there something you wanted to do with me?”

“R-right,” Silver said, following Shadow.

Shadow looked over at Sonic. “That’ll be your cue to go back to _your_ friends, faker,” he said darkly.

Sonic stood up. “Look, I get that you’re upset, but that doesn’t mean you should have to suffer.”

“You really don’t know me very well, do you?”

“Seriously, dude.” Sonic put his hands on Shadow’s shoulders.

“Don’t touch me.”

Sonic removed his hands. “Okay. Look, I was gonna invite you to go to a Christmas party me and Tails were throwing tomorrow, but if the holidays really suck that much for you, I won’t force ya. I’ll just have to come up with some other way to cheer you up.”

Shadow glared at him. “Your methods will only worsen with time, won’t they?”

“Plan B involves a clown.”

Shadow crossed his arms and looked at Silver. “Do you like Christmas parties?” he asked.

“I mean, I’ve never been to one, but I think I would!” Silver said. “I like parties, and I like Christmas, so, I mean, put two and two together…”

“Right.” He looked at Sonic. “I suppose Silver and I will see you tomorrow.”

“Really?” Silver said excitedly. Shadow nodded curtly.

Sonic smirked. “See ya there, faker.”


	2. Chapter 2

_After a long day of tests and calculations with the professor, Shadow came back to see Maria sitting on the floor of the ARK. She looked a little sad, but perked up when she saw Shadow._

_“Maria,” he said simply._

_She stood up. “Hi, Shadow. You were gone a while.”_

_“I’m sorry.”_

_“No, it’s not your fault. I just… I wanted to do something with you.”_

_“What is it?”_

_She took his hand and pulled him down to sit next to her. “Well, you see,” she started, “on Earth, there’s this holiday that Grandfather says we would celebrate. It’s called Hanukkah, and we would celebrate it for eight days. Grandfather and I tried to do it a couple times here, but he would always get so busy, and I had to do it myself. But now that you’re here, I wanted to do it with you.” She blushed, and looked down at the floor._

_Shadow blinked and pondered this. “Hm. What does this holiday entail?”_

_She looked up at him and brightened. “Oh! It’s really beautiful, Shadow. I hope you like it…”_

The day of Christmas Eve was Sonic’s Christmas party. Even though Shadow knew little about this event, he assumed it was a cliché move of him. He didn’t even know what he would end up doing. Knowing Sonic, it would probably be embarrassing.

He opened his front door, surprised to see that Silver was walking up his way. “Silver,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“I didn’t know if you were actually going to go, or if you were just saying that on my behalf, so I came to check.” He was wearing a horrific Christmas sweater: reds and greens that didn’t go together and lights and bells. It hurt just to look at him.

Shadow pursed his lips. “I’ve no reason to lie.” He shut the door. “But as you’re here, we might as well go together.”

“Right! Yes. Okay.” Silver gave Shadow an awkward smile before leading the way to Sonic’s house.

Had Shadow known he would be meeting up with Silver sooner, he might have been a bit more enthusiastic about the party. But Silver or no Silver, the party was going to be trash by itself, and going was the only way to convince anyone to leave him alone. Ironic, wasn’t it?

If at all possible, Sonic’s Christmas sweater was worse than Silver’s. It read “HAPPY HOLIDAYS” in bright LED lights, and Shadow was fighting every instinct to punch him in the face.

“You look like shit,” Sonic said cheerfully.

“At least I’m not dressed like it,” Shadow retorted.

Sonic shook his head. “Nuh-uh. No admittance without one of these.” He gestured to his sweater.

“I will murder you.”

Sonic grinned. “Don’t worry, edgelord, I picked one out perfect for you.” He handed Shadow a black sweater depicting a decapitated snowman. On the back it read “MERRY F*CKING CHRISTMAS”.

Shadow pulled the sweater over his head, knowing there was no reason to fight it, and stepped inside the house.

Sonic was annoyingly popular, and this was evident given the amount of people already at the party. Tails, Knuckles, Amy, the Chaotix, even some who Shadow didn’t know. And, of course, some he wouldn’t expect to be there anymore than himself.

“Rouge,” he said, seeing his friend standing at the corner. She was drinking egg nog and scanning the party. She apparently wore the bare minimum of what was deemed a sweater: it was bright wine red, low-cut and exposing her midriff, and Shadow wouldn’t be surprised if it was completely backless. It was lined with silver tinsel and on her chest were green handprints, followed by the words “FEEL THE JOY”.

She smirked when she saw Shadow. “Well, I’m surprised to see you here.”

“I could say the same.” He crossed his arms. “I didn’t know you were friends with Sonic.”

“Considering the fact you’re here, I don’t think being friends with him is a requirement for being at his party.”

“Point taken.” He paused. “Is Omega here too, then?”

“I don’t think there’s a Christmas sweater in the world that could fit them.”

“I’m sure they could use what’s left of yours.”

Rouge gasped, pressing her hand to her chest. “Oh, Shadow! You made a joke! Someone, mark the time!”

“Got it, Miss Rouge!” Charmy the Bee called. “6:35:42, December 24, 2017: Shadow made a joke.”

Rouge winked and blew him a kiss. She put her hands on her hips. “No, but seriously,” she said to Shadow, “they didn’t care enough to come. Surprised you did.”

“Sonic’s blackmailing me.”

“Aaaaand _there_ it is.” She looped her arm into his. “Cheer up, hon. It’s only one night.”

“What am I even supposed to be doing?” he asked flatly.

“Simple: have fun.”


	3. Chapter 3

_Maria showed Shadow her drawing of a menorah. “Since we can’t have open flames on the ARK, I just color in the candles on each day.” She pointed to the far right candle and the tall one in the middle. “I’m coloring these ones today. There’s a blessing I’m supposed to say, too. I don’t know if I can remember it, though…”_

_Shadow traced the outline of the drawing. “What do we do after?”_

_“We’re supposed to put it somewhere outsiders can see, so I’m going to put it on the window overlooking Earth.” She pointed. “And then we can play this one game Grandfather taught me.”_

_“And we do this for eight days?”_

_Maria nodded._

_“That doesn’t get tiring? Or repetitive?”_

_She shook her head. “It reminds me of the beauty of our people. The humans from long before our time… It’s amazing, Shadow. I just can’t explain it.” She held her drawing. “I can’t remember the whole blessing. I think it’s something about thanking God… It’s been a while since I did anything like this with someone else.”_

_“It’s all right, Maria.” He took her hand. “It’s the thought that counts, isn’t it?”_

_She smiled. “You’re right.” She colored the flame of the middle candle before handing the drawing to Shadow. “Here. I want you to draw the next candle.”_

_“Are you sure?”_

_“Absolutely.”_

Shadow leaned against the wall next to Rouge. Even if he didn’t want to be here in the first place, there was a comfort of being around his closest friend, even if the both of them remained silent. In fact, he preferred it that way.

“Don’t they have anything to drink in this place?” he asked.

Rouge handed him her cup.

“Not egg nog, Rouge.”

“Please. It’s ninety-five percent bourbon.”

He smelled the drink, and his eyes widened at the strong scent of alcohol. He downed the whole cup. “Sorry,” he said, handing it back to her.

“What a gentleman,” she replied. She pushed herself off the wall. “I’m gonna go outside for a smoke. Care to join me?”

He was more than ready to take Rouge up on her offer, but he was interrupted by Sonic. “Hey, faker. That’s not alcohol I smell, is it?”

“Not now, Sonic,” Shadow sighed. He looked at Rouge. “Go on ahead without me.”

She shrugged and sauntered out the door.

Sonic wrapped his arm around Shadow’s shoulder. “Look, I know you’re trying to be all sad, or whatever, but it’s bumming everyone out.”

“Maybe you should have thought about that before you invited me here.”

“Maybe _you_ shouldn’t be the ultimate crybaby, and should learn how to have fun.”

“I’ll have fun when I’m ripping your heart out,” Shadow snapped. He was surprised at where the sudden fury came from, but he didn’t take it back.

“Okay! That got dark fast.” Sonic backed up a few steps. “Heh heh… KNUCKLES!”

Knuckles ran up to Sonic. “What is it?” he asked.

“Shadow’s threatening me again.”

“He started it,” Shadow grumbled.

“Don’t be a jerk, Shadow,” Knuckles said.

“Watch it, echidna.”

“All right, I’m not letting this asshole ruin Christmas!” Knuckles yelled, clenching his fists.

“This is the opposite of what I wanted to happen!” Sonic interjected.

Knuckles ran at Shadow, who easily teleported out of the way. He crashed into the wall, leaving a decent-sized hole. Knuckles turned and glared at Shadow.

“Jesus, I leave you boys alone for five minutes, and this is what happens,” Rouge said. She _tsk_ ed softly.

“Stay out of this, bat girl,” Knuckles snarled.

“Wow, it’s almost like you have a death wish,” Shadow noted.

“Shut it!”

“I’m not getting involved in this,” Rouge said, shaking her head. “Amy! Your boys need you.”

Knuckles’ eyes widened when he saw Amy bounce over, her hammer draped over her shoulder. “Here to be of service!” she said.

“Have fun,” Rouge said, walking away.

Amy pointed her hammer at Knuckles and Shadow. “No fighting, you two. It’s Christmas.”

“Direct that at Shadow, not me!” Knuckles yelled.

Shadow folded his arms. “I’m more than happy to avoid fights as long as everyone stays out of my way.” He shoved past Knuckles and Sonic.

“Hey, wait!” Sonic called out.

“I said, stay out of my way!”

Shadow expected Sonic to argue, but he didn’t hear anything. He fought the urge to turn and look at him. He sighed. Rouge silently reached for his hand as he walked by her. He paused. She pulled him closely to her. “Do you need to get out of here?” she whispered.

He shook his head. “Not now. I just need to get away from Team Sonic.”

“What about me?”

He shut his eyes. “You do what you need to do. I’m going outside.” He let go of her hand.


	4. Chapter 4

_“I won again!” Maria said happily, collecting the chocolate coins. “You’re not letting me win, are you, Shadow?” she asked._

_“I don’t think I could ‘let you win’ at a game of chance,” Shadow replied._

_“Yeah,_ you _could! You could use your chaos powers or something to make the dreidel fall on_ gimel _every time I turn it and_ shin _every time you do!”_

_“I may not know the extent of my powers yet, but I doubt they could do that.”_

_Maria pouted. “Well, I’m still having fun.” She paused. “Are you having fun, Shadow?”_

_He looked at her and smiled. “I really am,” he said genuinely. “Though I always have fun with you, Maria.”_

_She smiled back. She picked up a chocolate coin and handed it to Shadow._

_“You won that,” he told her._

_“It’s mine, and I can do what I want with it, and I want you to have it.” She picked up another one. “_ L’chaim _,” she said, holding the candy up._

_Shadow raised his as well. Maria tapped hers against his before unwrapping and eating it. Shadow opened his and took a small bite. It wasn’t very good, but it wasn’t bad either. Either way, he was glad to have this moment._

Shadow sat with his back against the house. He listened to the dull thumps of cliché Christmas songs, watched the lights flash against the snow. He felt neither cold nor heat. He was oddly comfortable here. Maybe he could just stay out here until Sonic forgot about him and he could go home.

He heard the door open and shut. Someone was coming out. He prayed if anyone it would be Rouge; hers was the only presence he could stand at the moment.

“Hey, aren’t you cold?”

It was Silver. He tried not to look at him.

“Can I join you?”

Shadow stared at the snow for a while before nodding just a bit. He heard the snow crunch as Silver’s weight sank into it. Silver didn’t say anything; he only breathed slowly, his heat reaching Shadow gently.

“What are you doing here?” Shadow found himself asking. He still wouldn’t look at him.

“I noticed you weren’t at the party,” Silver said. “Rouge said you were out here.”

_Damn her,_ Shadow thought.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Shadow dug his hands into the snow. “Why would you care?” he breathed.

That seemed to catch Silver off guard. “I—I mean I just… W-when you…” He sighed. “N-no one deserves to not be okay, Shadow.”

Shadow hugged himself silently and squeezed his fingers into his arms. It felt like relief.

“I’m not helping, am I?”

Shadow shut his eyes.

“I’m going back inside. I… I’m sorry” More crunches in the snow. The door opened. A pause before it shut again. Shadow rammed his fist into the side of the house and bit his tongue to keep from screaming.


	5. Chapter 5

**_We interrupt this burst of Christmas-themed Shadow Depression to bring you: Amy Rose and the Mistletoe Plot. Featuring Blaze!_ **

Amy watched Sonic talk to Knuckles. There was something kind of endearing of their friendship. It made her long for something like that.

To her, that something was Blaze.

“Oh my gosh, Blaze!” Amy cried when her friend walked into the house. She threw her arms around her and laughed. “It’s been forever! I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too, Amy,” Blaze said. “Happy holidays.”

“Happy holidays!” Amy clutched onto Blaze’s hands and jumped up. “You’re just in time! I could use your help.”

“Is everything alright?”

“Oh, yeah, everything’s fine.” She leaned in and whispered into Blaze’s ear: “This time for sure I’m gonna get Sonic to kiss me.”

Blaze’s eyes widened. “How are you going to manage that?”

“You can’t _not_ kiss someone when you’re both standing under mistletoe! Sonic’s the most festive one here; he won’t pass up that tradition.”

“Well, why do you need my help?”

Amy laughed. “If it was that easy to catch Sonic, I wouldn’t be planning this out right now. I need you to help me set up bait.”

Blaze furrowed her eyebrows. “Are we getting you a kiss or a fish?”

“Don’t be like that.” She pulled Blaze into the kitchen. “Tails has been helping me make a month’s supply of chilidogs. I’m gonna put these under the mistletoe and casually wait by them until Sonic stops and gets them. Then he’ll be trapped and he’ll have no choice but to kiss me!”

Blaze wrinkled her nose. “He really likes those things?”

“Yeah, I know, his breath is gonna stink, but I don’t have a lot of options here.” She carried a plate of them out and set them on the table near the mistletoe. “Silver’s here, you know.”

“I know.” Blaze looked at Amy curiously.

“Right. So I just didn’t know if you were gonna get him to…”

Blaze started laughing. “You think I like Silver?” She covered her mouth with her hand.

Amy blinked in shock. “Don’t you?”

Blaze shook her head, still laughing. “We’re just friends. Goodness, Amy, I didn’t think…Me and _Silver_?” She patted Amy’s shoulder. “I’m not like that. Not like you.”

“What do you mean you—?” Amy cut herself off, and her eyes widened in understanding. “ _Oh_.” Heat rushed to her cheeks. “Well, um…I-I mean, I guess…Is there, um, anyone, or…?”

Blaze’s eyes drifted away. She pointed to Sonic. “You don’t wanna miss your chance, do you, Amy?”

She grinned and cracked her knuckles. “This is almost gonna be too easy,” she said. She lifted her hand and waved. “Sonic!”

She caught his attention. He jumped back a bit at the sight of her. She raised both her hands in the air. “Sonic! They have chilidogs!”

Before Amy even finished her sentence, she felt a wind rush past her. She blinked and collected herself before realizing the entire plate of chilidogs was gone. She looked up and saw Sonic, still with Tails and Knuckles, plate of dogs in hand. She fumed. “Sonic!” she yelled.

Blaze looked at her half sympathetically, half incredulously. “Do you have any other plans?” she asked.

“This is only the beginning,” Amy vowed. “Before Christmas tomorrow, Sonic and I are gonna be under the mistletoe!”

Blaze folded her arms. “Someone is under the mistletoe with you right now.”

Amy spun around and saw Cream reaching for the cookies on the table. “Oh, hello Miss Amy,” she said. She looked up. “Oh, dear.” Her face turned red. “I didn’t mean to…”

Amy gave her friend a kiss on the forehead and handed her one of the cookies. “Merry Christmas, Cream,” she said.

“Merry Christmas, Miss Amy.” Cream hugged Amy before running off back to Charmy.

“Maybe we should move the mistletoe to a less public area?” Blaze suggested.

Amy nodded. “I was only lucky it was Cream and not Knuckles.” She shuddered.

“What’s wrong with Knuckles?”

“Nothing, he’d just make it awkward.” Amy laughed. “You know how he is.”

Blaze laughed too. “That I do.” She reached up and pulled the mistletoe from its spot.


	6. Chapter 6

_“What do you think this would be like on Earth?” Maria asked. She and Shadow sat next to the drawing of the Menorah, staring at Earth. Her head rested on his shoulder._

_“I assume there would be a properly lit Menorah,” he replied._

_Maria let out a soft chuckle. “That’s a given.”_

_Shadow sighed. “I suppose there would be more people. It wouldn’t just be us. It would be right, I guess.”_

_“Yeah…” She lifted her head. “That’s not to say I’m not enjoying this. It’s just so lonely. It’s always lonely up here.”_

_Shadow looked at Maria. “I’m sorry.”_

_She shook her head. “Don’t be. As lonely as it is, I’ve always felt better with you around. You’re a true friend, Shadow.”_

_“As are you,” he replied, though he didn’t feel that that was enough to express what he was feeling._

_Maria wrapped her arm around his shoulders. “Once I get better, we’re gonna have a real Hanukkah on Earth.”_

_“You won’t need me then,” he found himself saying. “You’ll have family and friends.”_

_“I’ll_ want _you, silly.” She hugged him. “Why_ wouldn’t _I want you?”_

_Shadow shut his eyes and hugged her back. “Those will truly be wonderful days.”_

Shadow opened the door to Sonic’s house. “Here,” he said, throwing a bag at Rouge.

She caught it. “You went to McDonald’s?” she asked.

“I was only gone for two seconds,” he replied, opening up his own bag. He leaned against the wall next to Rouge.

She opened her food. “There’s still mustard on this.”

“You’re welcome.”

Rouge rolled her eyes. She grabbed a knife from the kitchen and started scraping the mustard off. “I’ll admit, I’m surprised you came back.”

Shadow stayed silent as he ate his food.

“The kids kept asking about you. You have a lot of fans.”

He shrugged. “What’d you tell them?”

“That you were dead.”

“That’s not entirely inaccurate.”

Rouge shoved him. “You jerk, I didn’t say that. I told them you needed time to yourself.”

“Should have gone with the dead thing. I don’t need everyone knowing my business.” He paused. “By ‘kids’, who do you mean?”

“You know, the kids. Charmy, Cream, Silver—”

“I don’t need Silver knowing my business.”

Rouge raised her hands in mock surrender. “Jesus, Shadow. I only told him you needed to be alone.”

_He didn’t listen,_ Shadow thought. _Why didn’t he listen?_ Silver was always so attached to him. Shadow shoved the empty wrappers into his bag. “This party sucks.”

“It’s not all that bad. I kissed Knuckles.”

Shadow gave her an incredulous look. “Why the hell would you do that?”

Rouge pointed at a plant hanging from the ceiling. “Christmas law. We were both under the mistletoe. God, he looked pissed.”

“How was it?”

She wiped her mouth. “How’d you think?”

He grimaced.

Rouge grinned. “Also, if you stick around, you’ll see Amy trying to catch Sonic under the mistletoe. That’s a sight to behold.”

Shadow found himself smirking. “Sounds like punishment enough for him dragging me here.”

“Trust me, Amy’s suffering more.” She laughed. “I almost feel bad for her. But once she kisses him, she’ll move on. I think.”

“For both their sakes, I’d hope so.”

Rouge stretched. “You know, since you’re here, Silver will probably check up on you.”

“I know.” He crossed his arms. He didn’t know if he wanted that or not.

“You shouldn’t avoid him.”

“It’s for both our sakes.” He pushed himself off the wall. “I’m bored as hell.”

“Wanna dance?”

Shadow looked at the people dancing in the center of the room. The music was awful, and no one was any good, but they all seemed to be having fun. “I’ve nothing better to do,” he said.

“It is a wonder you’re still single,” Rouge said sarcastically. She took his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor. “This is an old song. Maybe you’ve heard it.”

Shadow listened to the song. It did sound similar to some music from the ARK. The overlapping male and female voices had the same timbre as many singers from fifty years ago. But this was a Christmas song, so he doubted he would have heard it. He shook his head.

“Bummer. You’ll catch on, don’t worry.” She pulled him close to her. “You gonna lead or do I have to do all the work?”

He smirked before grabbing her by the waist and dipping her.

She yelped. “Careful now, one step at a time.”

He pulled her back up and spun her outwards. She let go of his hand and twirled, laughing. She started to dance alone, sensually. She gestured for Knuckles to join her, but his face only went redder than normal, and he ran out holding Sonic’s hand. She rolled her eyes.

He wasn’t sure if it was the bourbon he’d drunk earlier, or the McDonald’s, or the pure boredom with nearly everything else going on, but Shadow admitted to himself that Rouge looked like she was having fun. And maybe he could too. But hell if he was going to dance like _that_.

He did dance, though. In his own way. Everyone else was dancing, so he figured he wouldn’t stand out. Especially with Rouge gaining most of the attention. The songs were so horrible, but they were upbeat, and he did feel his mood lift a little.

He spun around and gasped when he saw himself staring into Sonic’s face. Sonic’s eyes were wide, and he looked desperately like he was trying not to laugh. “Shadow?” he said. He cleared his throat. “Were you, um—?”

“ _No_ ,” Shadow growled. “Whatever you think you saw, _no_.”

Rouge laughed and draped her arm around him. “God, Shadow, all those nights playing Just Dance have been paying off, huh?”

“You play Just Dance?” Sonic repeated.

“That’s it,” Shadow said. He stormed away.

“Aw, no. Shadow! It’s good!” Sonic cried out.

“Yeah! We like you doing fun shit!” Rouge agreed.

Shadow folded his arms. “I’m tired anyway.”

“I don’t think the Ultimate Lifeform’s supposed to get tired,” Rouge muttered to Sonic.

“I heard Monster runs through his veins,” Sonic muttered back.

“Rouge,” Shadow said. “I’ll stay. But I’m not dancing anymore.”

Rouge clutched her heart. “Aw, are you staying for me?”

He knew she was being sarcastic, but he gave her a small nod anyway. She smiled.

“Oh, but if you’re staying,” she said, “you should probably know that…” She laughed slightly and pointed behind him. He turned around and saw Amy Rose standing behind him looking both furious and embarrassed. He looked up and saw that they were both caught under the mistletoe. His face grew hot.

“I don’t have to, do I?” he asked.

Amy groaned and kissed him quickly. “Don’t tell _anyone_!” she warned.

“Too late, Sonic already posted it,” Rouge said.

“Sonic!” Amy cried, running after him.


	7. Chapter 7

Amy stuck her face under the kitchen sink and turned on the faucet. She took a towel and rubbed her lips as furiously as she could.

“You’re overreacting a bit,” Blaze said. She relaxed against the counter, her arms folded as she watched Amy scrub herself of her previous failed mistletoe attempt.

“I don’t care,” Amy said, gasping for air before turning on the sink’s hose and shooting the water directly into her mouth. She coughed and sputtered.

“Easy,” Blaze said, putting her hand on Amy’s back. “It wasn’t that bad, was it?”

Amy turned off the water. “It wasn’t so much that it was _bad_ , it just felt really weird. Not to mention, I don’t think he likes me.”

“Shadow doesn’t like anyone.”

“Bleh.” Amy stuck her tongue out. “First Cream, then Charmy, then _Shadow_. I’m gonna get Sonic under the mistletoe with me if it kills me!”

“What’s the big deal anyway?” Blaze asked.

“The big deal? I’ve only been in love with Sonic my entire life, I’d like to have this one thing.”

Blaze shrugged. “I guess I just don’t know what you see in him.”

“I see _everything_! Haven’t you ever felt that way about someone before?”

Blaze’s cheeks went red, and she looked down. Amy knew that she was right, and that Blaze _had_ loved someone before. She might still. She couldn’t help but grow curious.

“Who?” she asked.

Blaze blinked, and her face grew redder. “N-nobody.” She averted Amy’s gaze.

“C’mon, I won’t tell anyone!” Amy promised. “I promise I won’t judge!”

“It’s embarrassing.”

Amy pursed her lips. “Okay, fine.” She grabbed Blaze’s hand. “But can you at least answer this?”

“What?”

“Are they at the party?”

Blaze swallowed and nodded slowly.

“Aha! That’s just perfect then, isn’t it? You just get them under the mistletoe!”

“W-what? No, Amy, I-I couldn’t, I can’t force the issue, a-and I—”

Amy had never seen Blaze like this before: so nervous and flustered. It was kind of endearing. She giggled. “It’ll be okay, Blaze. I’ll kiss Sonic first, and then we can work on you. That’ll give you plenty of time to work up the courage.”

Blaze let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, if we’re not going to do it until after you kiss Sonic, then I’ll never have to face the issue.”

“Hey!” Amy let out an annoyed noise. “Just for that, you have to give me a hint on who it is.”

Blaze took a deep breath. “I suppose that’s fair.” She looked at Amy. “She’s very pretty.”

“Oh, come on, that could be _anyone_!”

Blaze shrugged. “You never said how specific I had to be.”

“Cheat.” Amy wrinkled her nose and pulled Blaze into the living room. “C’mon, are we gonna get Sonic to face his feelings or not?”

“Knowing him? Not.”

“Have a little optimism, Blaze.” Amy giggled. “It’ll be a Christmas miracle, just you watch!”

Blaze didn’t say anything. She only laughed.

“What?”

“Someone keeps moving the mistletoe.”

Amy looked up and saw that she was, in fact, under the mistletoe. And so was Knuckles. “You’ve _got_ to be kidding me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Knuckles demanded.

“Nothing, let’s just get this over with.”

“You’re not doing a very good job at reassuring me here,” he said.

Amy grabbed onto Knuckles’ shoulders and pulled him down to her, kissing him. He was not very good at it, but he was at least better than Shadow. She released him. “Have you been eating chilidogs?” she asked.

His face grew redder than usual, and he ran away from her. Blaze couldn’t contain her laughter.


	8. Chapter 8

_“I can’t believe it’s already over,” Maria said as she took the drawing down from the window. There was one more candle left. Her hand shook as she held the crayon. “I don’t want it to end.”_

_“Isn’t this an annual holiday?” Shadow asked. “We’ll celebrate it next year.”_

_“I know.” Her hand curled over the crayon. Shadow worried if he’d hit a nerve. With Maria’s illness, something as far away as next year might not happen._

_“We will,” he promised._

_“I know that, Shadow. That’s not the problem.”_

_Shadow blinked. If she wasn’t worried about not having a future, what was she upset about? “What is it, then?” he asked._

_She bit her lip. “The truth is, after the first night, I begged Grandfather to stop testing on you until the end of the holiday so we could celebrate it as much as we could,” she explained. She shook her head. “Tomorrow you’ll have to be tested again, and you’ll probably have to go through double shifts for a while until Grandfather can catch up on the work he missed. I’m sorry. It was selfish. I just wanted to spend this time with you.” Tears rolled down her face and onto the drawing of the Menorah._

_“Maria,” Shadow whispered. He stood on his knees and grabbed hold of Maria’s shoulders. “It’s okay. I’ll still be here. I’m not leaving the ARK.”_

_She shook her head. “I’ve loved this time with you, Shadow. You’re my best friend, and you make me feel so safe and secure. I’ve always been so lonely, especially during the holidays. I know you’ll still be here, but I’ve grown used to spending all day with you, I don’t want that to end.”_

_“I don’t either,” Shadow admitted. “Everything you’ve said, I feel. You know that, don’t you? You’re my very special, very precious friend, Maria. I’ll be here for you, and you’ll be here for me. I’ll miss you these next few days, but I promise to make up for any lost time whenever I can.”_

_Maria wiped her eyes. “I love you, Shadow.”_

_She said those words a lot. They came easy to her, for she was a person so full of love that it overpowered any illness in her. And whatever love felt like, Shadow knew he felt that for her too. He couldn’t find himself to tell her the feelings were mutual, but the look in her eyes told him that she already knew._

“You know, I won’t force you to stay here any longer if you don’t wanna be here,” Sonic told Shadow. It was getting close to ten, and he’d been there for two hours already. He didn’t answer.

“You’re bugging the hell out of me,” Rouge said bluntly. “I know you’re angry and bitter and, you know, _you_ , but I want you to be honest with me.” She grabbed Shadow’s shoulders. “Do you have to go home?”

He looked into her eyes before slowly shaking his head. “No. I apologize. I… I’ll be okay. I don’t know what got into me.”

Rouge smirked. “Finally.” She draped her arm around his shoulders.

“I hope you’re serious,” Sonic said, “because we’re starting the white elephant soon.”

Rouge jumped up and clapped her hands. “I call Knuckles’ gift!”

“Hey!” Knuckles barked from across the room.

“What? I know _you_ must have gotten something sparkly.” She winked.

Shadow grabbed Rouge’s arm. “What is this?”

Her face lit up. “Oh, listen Shadow, it is the greatest concept ever.” She grabbed his hands and pulled him over to a table that was stacked with various wrapped gifts. “Everyone brings a gift but no one knows what it is and sometimes it’s something shitty but other times it’s something gorgeous! You pick the one you want and open it and it’s yours. But if you try hard enough you can get someone to trade yours. Last year, I walked out with a $200 gift card to Sephora.”

Shadow folded his arms and looked at the gifts. “Everyone participates?”

Rouge nodded.

He looked down at the ground for a moment before turning around. “Sonic!” he called out. Sonic looked over at him and walked over.

“What’s up Shadz?” he asked.

Shadow looked back down. “Do you… Do you want me to get a gift for the…this?” he asked, gesturing to the table.

Sonic’s eyes widened. “Oh. I mean, you don’t have to, but you can if you want to. Do you want to?”

“Hmph.” Shadow pushed past Sonic and ran out the door, returning minutes later with a wrapped gift. “I didn’t steal it,” he said, placing the item in Sonic’s hands.

“I…didn’t think you did.” Sonic put the gift on the table.

“What’d you get, huh?” Rouge asked, grinding up against Shadow. “Gum?”

Shadow scoffed. “Isn’t the point of the game for it to be a surprise?”

Rouge grinned. “I like this side of you.” She looked at the presents. “Regardless, I think I’m sticking with Knuckles’. No offense hon, but you have bad taste.”

“Hmph.” He leaned against the wall. “Are we going to do this or not?”

“Easy, Shadz,” Sonic said. “Give it some time.” He grinned. “Look at you, getting into the Christmas spirit.”

“I’m in the ‘let’s finish as quickly as possible’ spirit.”

Sonic and Rouge looked at each other and rolled their eyes. “He’s into it,” Rouge said.

“That much is obvious,” Sonic agreed. He cleared his throat. “Hey yo!” he called out, waving his hand. “White elephant time! Come gather round!”

His friends heeded his call and formed a mob around the table.

“I wanna go first!” said Amy.

“No fair, you went first last year!” Knuckles said.

“Whose is whose?” asked Charmy. “I want Vector’s!”

“You’re not getting mine, Charmy,” Vector said. “I bought that one specifically for me!”

“Hey now, you guys know the rules,” Sonic said. “We can’t know who got what until the end. And I think…Shadow should be the one to go first.”

“What?” Shadow replied. “Why me?”

“You’re our guest.”

“They’re _all_ your guests.”

“Well, yeah, but you’re a first-time guest, or something.” He gestured to the table. “Go on, pick.”

Shadow stared at the table of presents. It seemed that it wouldn’t necessarily matter what he chose, as he was pretty sure he didn’t actually want anything anyway. And he assumed you weren’t allowed to choose your own gift. He picked up a small blue box. It fit in the palm of his hand and was topped with a red ribbon. He had a feeling it was Sonic’s. One look at him told him he was right. He sighed.

“You picking that one?” Rouge asked.

“I suppose,” Shadow replied.

“Okay then, open it up!” Sonic added, grinning.

Shadow pulled back the ribbon and opened up the box. Inside was a pair of ankle socks designed to look like strips of bacon. Shadow stared at Sonic dubiously.

“If you don’t wear those every day for the rest of your life, we can’t be friends anymore,” Sonic said.

“It will be such a shame to lose your friendship,” Shadow replied, closing the lid on the box.

“I’m next!” Rouge said, waving her hand. “Let’s see, let’s see.” She picked up a crudely wrapped box. “This is yours, isn’t it Knuckles?”

Knuckles went red in the face. “No, you can’t have that!”

“Too late!” She ripped the paper off. “Ooh, pearls.” She pulled out a necklace. “You sweet angel, you still haven’t learned the point of this game, have you?” She slipped the necklace over her head. “How does it look, Shadow?” she asked.

Shadow looked at the necklace, and then over to Knuckles, who was pounding his head into the wall as Sonic and Tails rubbed his back soothingly. “It made my day,” he said.

He didn’t pay a lot of attention when most of the other party guests opened their gifts. Most of the gifts were jokes, but Cream walked away with an envelope filled with money. There were only a few gifts left when it was Silver’s turn. Silver looked at the presents and contemplated for a bit. He even psychically picked up a couple to examine further.

“Come on, Silv, we don’t have all night,” Sonic said. “I’m waiting.”

“Sorry,” Silver replied in a tone that implied that he wasn’t sorry at all. He dropped all but one of the presents. “This one.”

Shadow’s eyes widened when he realized Silver was holding _his_ gift.

“Hey, isn’t that—?” Rouge began to say. She laughed. “Oh, this should be good.”

“Oh my God!” Silver exclaimed, and Shadow’s stomach dropped.

“What the hell?” Sonic said. “Who the hell got you an iPod?”

Shadow felt his face grow red.

“How the hell’d you afford that?” Rouge asked him.

“Wait, this is from Shadow?” Silver said.

Shadow’s face grew hotter.

“Jesus, Shadow,” Sonic said. “You _really_ don’t understand this game.”

“I thought you said you didn’t steal it,” Rouge said.

“I didn’t,” he replied.

“Then how’d you get the money?”

“I stole _that_.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“Shadow!” Sonic yelled.

“What? I don’t have money.”

“Don’t you have a job?”

“ _Somehow_ my paycheck always ends up in Rouge’s bank account.”

“Shadow, this is way too generous,” Silver said.

Shadow’s face warmed up again. “It’s just something I picked up. It’s not a big deal.”

“No, it is.”

“Hey, are we gonna finish or not?” Amy said.

“Oh, right,” Sonic replied, speeding over to the rest of the group, leaving Shadow, Silver, and Rouge.

“I didn’t mean to get it for you,” Shadow said.

“Smooth,” Rouge muttered.

“I know,” Silver said. “But still.” He sighed. “Once they finish the game, I have to give you your gift too.”

“Silver—” Shadow cut himself off when he caught a glimpse of Rouge’s wide smile. “Have something to say?”

“No, you two continue,” she said.

Shadow tensed. “I’m…” He didn’t finish his sentence. He walked off.


	9. Chapter 9

“I’m going to get me and Sonic under the mistletoe by the end of the night if it kills me,” Amy had promised Blaze earlier the night. It was eleven, and she was considerably tired, but her determination to carry out her task overrode any sense—both common and of exhaustion.

Blaze yawned. “Amy, I admire your dedication to this project, but it’s getting late. Why don’t we try again tomorrow? Or next year?”

“It’s the principle, Blaze,” Amy told her. “Believe me, at this point, I’d rather kiss a sack of flour than Sonic. But the point is that this is something I’ve wanted my entire life, and I’ve accepted that I’ll probably never be his girlfriend.”

Blaze blinked. “Wow,” she said, impressed. “I didn’t think I’d ever hear you say that.”

“Well, it’s true.” Amy sneered. “Loath as I am to admit it. I just need this out of my system. And I need to assert _some_ dominance over him in my life.”

“You do that plenty, Amy dear.”

Amy shrugged. “True. But a little more can’t hurt, can it?”

“Have you been spending time with Rouge lately?”

“A bit, I guess. Why do you ask?”

“She’s rubbing off on you. Maybe you should have employed her help for this task.”

“Don’t be silly. Rouge is great and a role model, but she’s too busy trying to get Shadow to show emotion. Plus, every time I ask her for advice on Sonic, all she says is, ‘dump him’.”

“That’s a good idea,” Blaze muttered.

“I can’t dump him if we’re not dating!” Amy whined.

“Dump him emotionally.”

“I will once I kiss him.”

Blaze sighed. “There really is no stopping you. I can admire that, truly.” She paused. “Amy, dear, can you get me some punch?”

“What?”

Blaze smiled. “I’m helping you out with this little ploy of yours, the least you can do is get me some punch.”

“I guess you’re right,” Amy said. “I’ll be back.” She walked over to the punch table. She couldn’t help but think that the way Blaze suddenly asked this favor of her was a little suspicious.

“Hey Ames,” Sonic said. She jumped.

“Oh, hi Sonic!” she replied. “I haven’t seen you all night.”

“Things to do, Shadows to annoy. I’m a busy guy.”

“That’s fair.” She tried to think of something else to say when she noticed Blaze standing behind Sonic. The mistletoe was in her hand. And she was holding it right above Sonic. Amy screamed.

“What? What?” Sonic asked. “Are you okay?”

“I’m _more_ than okay!” she replied, bouncing. “Ha! I got you!”

“You—” He cut himself off and looked up. “Oh.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “She’s got you doing her dirty work too, Blaze?”

“I just wanted to go home,” Blaze said. “This was all me.”

Amy became vaguely aware that everyone in the party was now staring at her and Sonic. She pressed her hands together and squealed.

“I didn’t think she’d actually manage it,” Tails said. “What are you gonna do, Sonic?”

Sonic looked at Tails, then Knuckles, then everyone at the party. He sighed and shrugged. “ _Feliz Navidad_.” He grabbed Amy by the waist and kissed her. Amy kissed back like she’d been practicing—er, _imagining_ —for years.

Sonic let her go. “Merry Christmas, Amy.”

“Merry Christmas, Sonic!” She waved at him as he gave her a small grin.

“Well?” Blaze asked. “How was it?”

Amy sighed and looked at her friend. “Oh my god… It was _so_ bad.”

Blaze laughed. “You’re joking.”

“No! He’s a really bad kisser!”

“Oh my god, I’m still right here!” Sonic said.

Amy laughed. “ _God_ , I’ve been hyping you up for _nothing_.”

“Jesus, feelings.”

“How was it for _you_ , Sonic?” Knuckles asked in a half-teasing voice.

Sonic made a face. “Like…kissing a girl?”

“Do you wanna do it again?”

“You mean with Amy or in general?”

Knuckles shrugged. “Either, I guess.”

Sonic shook his head. “Nope.”

“Rude,” Amy said.

“You’re one to talk.” They looked at each other and laughed.

“Seriously though, Sonic. Thanks.”

He smiled. “No problem Amy. Just know that this does nothing about my feelings for you.”

“I wouldn’t have expected any different.” Amy turned and looked at Blaze. “That was nice of you.”

Blaze shrugged. “Like I said, I just wanted to go home.”

“If you say so.” Amy paused. “Where’s the mistletoe?”

Blaze’s face turned red. Amy looked up and saw the mistletoe hanging above both their heads. Amy’s face got hot fast.

“W-what’s it doing there?” she asked.

“I didn’t put it there!” Blaze swore. She sighed. “I know who did though.” She pointed behind Amy. Amy turned around and saw Silver. He waved at her. “Ugh,” Blaze groaned, slamming her hand into her forehead. She looked at Amy through the cracks in her fingers. “We don’t have to kiss if you don’t want to.”

Amy felt her stomach tingle. She’d always loved Blaze like her best friend. But now she felt her hot face and her heart pounding: both reactions something that had originally only happened when she was with Sonic. She grabbed Blaze’s face and pulled it down to hers. Her face grew even hotter, and she wasn’t sure if that was her own heat or Blaze’s.

She let go of Blaze and caught her breath. “Um. Sorry,” she found herself saying.

“No, it…it’s okay,” Blaze said.

Amy heard Silver giggle behind her, and her blush grew more fervent. “Um… Do you wanna go home?” Amy asked.

“Yeah,” Blaze said. “T-together?”

“I guess so.” Amy bit her lip and tentatively grabbed Blaze’s hand. She looked up to gauge Blaze’s reaction. Blaze smiled, and Amy felt herself relax, and she smiled too as they both walked home.


	10. Chapter 10

_Maria yawned. “Are you tired, Shadow?” she asked._

_He shook his head. “If you’re tired you can sleep,” he told her._

_“No, I wanna spend as much time with you before tomorrow as I can.” She rubbed her eyes._

_“Don’t push yourself too hard. You might get worse.”_

_“I’ll be fine.” She shook her head. “Don’t worry about me, Shadow.” She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. “I’ll be okay as long as you’re here.”_

_“That may be true,” came a voice from behind the two of them, “but Shadow’s right to be concerned.”_

_Maria stood up and turned around, and Shadow followed suit. “Grandfather!” she cried, jumping into Gerald Robotnik’s arms. “I thought you had to work!”_

_He rubbed her back. “I couldn’t miss the last night of Hanukkah, dear. I’m sorry I couldn’t be here for the other nights.” He looked at Shadow. “But I’m glad you had some company.”_

_Shadow blushed. He looked at the professor. “I enjoyed it myself,” he told him. Gerald smiled back at him._

_Maria jumped up. “I can’t sleep now, you’re finally here!” she said._

_Gerald laughed. “Well, I suppose we can stay up a little longer. After all, I have a gift for you.”_

_Maria grinned. “Really? You didn’t have to do that.”_

_Shadow felt a small twinge of guilt for having not gotten anything for her._

_Gerald handed her a small box. “This may or may not have consisted of much of my work this past week,” he admitted._

_Maria smiled. “You’re too kind, Grandfather,” she said, opening the box. She pulled out a small golden necklace. “Oh my gosh. It’s beautiful!” She showed it to Shadow. “Look!”_

_The golden pendant was shaped like a heart, Maria’s name engraved in calligraphy on the front. On the back was a symbol of what looked like two interlocking triangles. Shadow had never seen that symbol before, but it seemed to have a lot of meaning to both Maria and Gerald._

_“It is beautiful,” Shadow agreed._

_Maria squealed, running her fingers over it. She gasped suddenly, throwing Shadow into defense. “It’s a locket!” she said, and Shadow relaxed._

_“It is!” Gerald said. “I designed it to be able to display several images at any size.”_

_“That’s amazing!” She jumped up. “Can we take pictures for it now? Can we, Grandfather?” She clasped her hands together._

_He smiled and put his hand on her head. “I suppose so, my dear. But only if you promise to go to bed right after.”_

_“I promise,” Maria said. “Let’s take pictures!”_

_Gerald went to get the camera. Shadow stood next to him as he pointed the camera at Maria. “Smile,” he told her._

_Maria smiled softly. “Wait!” she said suddenly. “Shadow, I want you in the picture with me.”_

_Shadow blushed. Gerald smiled. “Yes, you join her, Shadow.”_

_Red-faced, Shadow walked up next to Maria. She grabbed onto him in a hug and laughed. The comfort of her hug relaxed him, and he found himself smiling too._

Shadow sighed. He watched some of Sonic’s friends leave the party. He was only staying late because he knew Silver had something to give him. And…maybe he could get an excuse to talk to him.

Rouge wrapped her arm around him. “Damn, this party was almost kinda cool,” she said. “Do you think if we stay till midnight something awesome would happen?”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” he said.

She sighed. “At least I got to see Amy kiss Sonic. I never thought that would happen. Remind me to high five her later.”

“I almost pity him,” Shadow muttered, remembering when he’d been caught under the mistletoe with her.

“Oh don’t be a baby. At least you got some action.”

Shadow heard a knock on the door. “Who the hell…?” he said, looking at Rouge. She shrugged. He went over to the door and opened it. “What—?”

“Can it, Stripes, where’s Sonic?” asked Jet. He and Wave were standing in the door, looking ready to pick a fight.

“Don’t you have somewhere else to be, kid?” Shadow replied, sighing.

“Let him annoy Sonic, it’s Christmas,” Wave said, annoyed. She clearly didn’t want to be here any more than Shadow did.

“Oh my god!” Shadow heard Rouge yell behind him. She ran past him. “Wave!”

Wave squealed. “Oh my god, you’re here!” She opened up her arms for Rouge to jump into. “Sweet, this wasn’t a waste of a night anyway.”

Rouge kissed Wave’s face. “C’mon babe, let’s bounce.”

“Um?” Jet and Shadow said at the same time.

“Ugh, _fine_ ,” Wave groaned. “We’ll stay a bit, why the hell not.”

Rouge grabbed Wave’s waist. “Don’t worry babe, I know where all the mistletoe spots are.” She kissed Wave’s beak.

“I’m gonna be sick,” Jet muttered.

“Jet?” said Sonic as he walked out of the kitchen with Knuckles and Tails. “What are you doing here?”

“Why didn’t you invite us, hedgehog?” he demanded.

“I was under the assumption you hated me.”

“I do!”

Sonic blinked. “Then… Then what’s the problem?”

“It’s called common decency! You can pay me back by racing me.” He tossed Sonic a hoverboard.

Sonic looked from the board to Jet. “Dude.”

“What? You chicken?”

“Oh my god.” Sonic hopped on his board. “Three two one go.” He raced out the door.

“Hey that’s cheating!” Jet yelled as he raced after him.

Rouge, Wave, Shadow, Knuckles, and Tails all looked at each other, sharing that annoyed “oh god why is he like this” look.

“Okay, okay, I’m back!” Silver said, running through the door. He’d told Shadow that he’d accidentally left the gift at his house, so he’d gone to get it back. He was using his psychokinesis to levitate a white and blue box. “Sorry it took so long, I— Aah!” He was cut off by Sonic and Jet zooming back into the house.

“I won!” Jet said.

“Yeah right, you were miles behind me,” Sonic said.

“Shut up!” Jet kicked off his board. “C’mon Wave, let’s get out of here.”

“You go without me, I’m too busy feeling the joy,” Wave said, winking.

Rouge grinned happily. “Yeah she is!”

“Gross, gross, gross,” Jet said, darting out of Sonic’s house.

“Wimp,” Wave muttered.

Silver composed himself and walked over to Shadow. He let the present fall from his psychic grip and into his hands. “Um. Here you go,” he said, thrusting the box in Shadow’s direction. “M-Merry Christmas.”

“Oh shit, this I _gotta_ see,” Rouge said, turning to look.

“Me too, me too,” Sonic said. “Where’s the video camera?”

“Shut up, Sonic,” Shadow muttered, tearing off the paper.

“Five bucks says it’s a gun,” Sonic said.

“Ten bucks says it’s fake tattoos,” Rouge countered.

“Twenty bucks on black eyeliner,” Knuckles added.

“You’re on,” Sonic and Rouge told him.

Shadow lifted up the box’s lid and froze. He gently scooped the gift out and let the box fall to the ground. It was a felt doll, only a little bigger than his hand. It looked just like Maria, in every way: hair, eyes, dress—everything.

“Oh shit,” Rouge said.

“Didn’t see that one coming,” Sonic muttered.

“Silver’s dead.”

“Mm-hm.”

Shadow stared open-mouthed at the doll before slowly looking up at Silver. Silver gave him a nervous smile. “Um. Yeah,” he said. He giggled nervously.

Shadow felt hollow in the pit of his stomach. He squeezed the doll and felt his legs move forward, past Silver.

“Oh no,” Silver muttered. “Shadow!” He grabbed Shadow’s arm to stop him from moving. Silver was no physical match for him, but Shadow was in too much shock to put up any bit of a fight.

Shadow turned around. “What?”

Silver stared at him for a second, mouth agape. He stuttered a bit before grabbing onto Shadow’s arms and pulling his lips to his.

Shadow didn’t register why this was happening, but when it did, a strange feeling shot through him, and he kissed Silver back. He felt Silver’s hands gripping his arms, and Shadow instinctively put his hand on Silver’s waist. He kissed him again, and then he kissed air. He opened his eyes and realized Silver had stopped.

“S-sorry…,” Silver muttered. “But we… I mean, when I stopped you… We were under the mistletoe, and…”

“Holy Jesus and Christ,” Rouge said. “Goddammit Sonic, why didn’t you have your video camera then?”

“God, Jet is missing out,” Wave said.

Shadow’s face grew red. He realized his hand was still on Silver’s waist, and the other was still clutching the Maria doll. He squeezed the doll harder and ran away from Silver. His night was over.


	11. Chapter 11

_Hopefully Maria was asleep. She should be—it was nearly one a.m. Shadow didn’t need as much sleep as the humans seemed to. He’d stayed up later tonight because he’d still felt guilty for not having gotten Maria anything. It didn’t occur to him at first because she never got him anything. But seeing how happy she was after Gerald gave her that locket…Shadow wanted to give her that happiness._

_He wasn’t going to have the opportunity to see her at all the next day; not with all the tests and training he and Gerald were going to have to do to make up for the lost week. So he had to give it to her now. He sneaked into her room quietly, the jets in his shoes pumping softly to keep him afloat. He drifted over to her nightstand and laid the gift down gently. Maria stirred in her bed, and he froze._

_“Shadow…?” she mumbled softly. She moaned and rubbed her eyes. “Is that you…?”_

_“Go back to sleep,” he whispered._

_This didn’t help the situation. She stretched and sat up in her bed. “What are you doing here?”_

_Defeated, he lowered himself back to the ground. Her eyes caught sight of the gift on her nightstand. “What’s that?” she asked._

_“It’s for you.”_

_“From you?”_

_He nodded._

_She picked up the paper and turned on her nightstand lamp to look at it. She was silent for a while. “Did you draw this?”_

_He nodded again. It was a drawing of the two of them on Earth. He didn’t know as much about Earth as she did, so he just drew them on green grass under a blue sky, lots of flowers around the two of them. He only had a little paper and the few crayons that he and Maria had been using for the drawing of the Menorah the past week, but he thought he’d done a good job._

_“It’s so pretty Shadow,” she finally said. “I mean it. It’s beautiful.” Her eyes shone. “I love you Shadow.” She wrapped her arms around him in a hug. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get you anything.”_

_Shadow hugged her back. “It’s okay Maria,” he whispered. “I spent all week with you. That was… That was my gift.”_

_She squeezed him tight. “I don’t want you to go yet,” she said. She placed the drawing back on her nightstand. “Will you stay the night with me?”_

_“Of course.” He turned off her light for her and helped himself onto her bed. She pulled the covers over him and snuggled him close. He shut his eyes and felt Maria’s safety and security against him. Her body was slightly cold, as it was as she got sicker. He moved closer to her and expelled a small bit of energy to keep her warm. They both fell asleep._

Shadow woke up the next day when he heard a knock on his door. He groaned and rolled out of bed. After the party last night, there was little he felt like doing, and even though he didn’t need it, he decided he wanted sleep. At least until he was interrupted now.

He opened the front door and saw Silver standing there. He immediately became self-conscious. “Oh!” Silver said. “H-hi.”

“Hi,” Shadow said quietly. “What is it?”

“I, um… I wanted to apologize for last night!”

Those words shocked Shadow, but not as much as the next words that came out of his mouth: “Would you like to come in?”

Silver grew red-faced before nodding slowly and entering. He slipped off his boots and stood awkwardly in the entrance. “Um… Should I…?”

Shadow gestured to the couch, and Silver sat down. “Do you want something to drink?” he asked.

“Yeah. Hot chocolate, if you have it?”

Shadow stared into his pantry. In the cupboard, Sharkbite was eating out of a bag of Doritos. “I don’t have that,” he said. “Is tea fine?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Silver said. “I mean, thanks.”

This was painful. Shadow made himself and Silver the tea before sitting down on the couch a few cushions down from Silver. He handed him his cup. “What are you apologizing for?” Shadow asked him.

“The, um… I mean, the, uh… There’s a lot, I guess.” He took a sip of the tea and winced.

“You okay?”

“It’s so hot.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine, I just… I’ll let it cool and… Okay.” Silver put the cup down and took a breath. “I’m sorry about the kiss!”

Something shot through Shadow. Of course. It was a stupid Christmas thing. It didn’t mean anything. But why did it hurt when he heard it out loud? “It’s okay,” he muttered.

“No it’s not! It was dumb, I’m sorry. See, I didn’t mean for us to get stuck under there, you know? I was just trying to get you to stop. And I already had a feeling you were upset about the doll, I just panicked, I’m sorry. And… Wait.”

Shadow suddenly became aware that he’d been holding onto the Maria doll this entire time. Hell, he had since last night. He slept with it. He grew warm. He drank from his mug.

“I… I was going to apologize for the doll too, but…,” Silver muttered. He looked at Shadow.

Shadow cleared his throat and put the mug down. “I’ll admit,” he said slowly, “I was surprised when I opened your gift. But it… I do like it.”

The smile on Silver’s face didn’t do much to help Shadow’s self-consciousness. “Really?”

Shadow nodded. “It looks just like her. All it’s missing is the locket…”

Silver cocked his head curiously. Shadow snapped himself from his reverie. “What do you mean you were going to apologize for the doll?” he asked.

“Oh,” Silver said. “See, I really wanted to get you something so I asked Sonic. He said _not_ to get you anything related to Maria because you were really sensitive about her. He told me about that time he dressed up as Maria and you ripped his quills out.”

“They grew back, didn’t they? I told him to stop telling that story…”

Silver gulped.

“It was more than that though…,” Shadow continued. “He was trying to make me happy by making me think she was still alive. That’s dumb _and_ cruel. Any idiot could tell it was him.” He shifted. “But you ignored him.”

“I couldn’t think of anything!” Silver said in his own defense. “I asked everyone! Nothing seemed right. But then I found a website where you could submit a picture of an animal or a person and they’d make a doll that looked like it and I couldn’t help myself!” He paused. “I don’t understand. You like it?”

Shadow nodded. “You’re not trying to trick me. It’s special. It’s just like you.”

Silver’s face grew red. “S-Shadow…”

Shadow sighed. “I have something for you too.” He stood up.

“Wait! You don’t need to get me anything! You already got me the iPod!”

“That could have gone to anyone. This is specifically for you.” He went to his closet and pulled out the rings. “Here,” he said, handing them to Silver. He suddenly felt like an idiot; they weren’t wrapped or decorated or anything.

“I…” Silver turned them over in his hands. “I thought you didn’t like Christmas.”

“They’re not for Christmas. I had them made a while ago. I just didn’t get a chance to give them to you but now.” He took Silver’s arm. “They go here,” he said, tracing the glowing teal marks on Silver’s wrist. Silver made a small noise and shivered. Shadow pulled his hands back. “Th-they’re like my limiters,” he said. “I know you have a lot of power, but I can tell you’re holding back. This will hold that power back for you, so you don’t hurt anyone or yourself. And if you really need to, you take them off and…” He stopped. The next part should be obvious, he thought.

Silver silently looked at the rings some more, and then at Shadow. He slipped one of them on. “Oh,” he said. He slipped the other on. “I feel them working…” He looked at Shadow. “Thank you,” he said. “I mean that, really. This way I can get better… Thank you!” He threw his arms around Shadow’s neck suddenly. He took in a sharp gasp and pulled back. “S-sorry. I always get so carried away.”

“It’s okay,” Shadow mumbled, not making eye contact.

Silver raised a hand slowly, but dropped it. “I… I was going to go to Blaze’s,” he said. “She likes you, I think. Do you want to come with me?”

Shadow shook his head. “I can’t. Christmas doesn’t matter to me, remember?”

“Oh yeah…” Silver looked sad. Shadow clenched a fist.

He put his hand on Silver’s shoulder. Silver looked up at him, shocked. “Despite that…,” he said quietly, “I’ll see you again later, Silver. This I know. And promise.”

Silver smiled a little. “O-okay.”

Shadow felt himself smile back.

“I gotta go,” Silver told him. He grabbed his boots and put them back on. “Thanks for everything, Shadow. Merr—I mean… Take care.”

“Take care, Silver. And…Merry Christmas,” Shadow added quietly.

Silver smiled again and left Shadow’s house. Shadow exhaled loudly when the door shut and fell down on his bed. He saw Sharkbite fly over to him, Dorito crumbs on her face. “Chao chao,” she said, waving her arm.

“One day, maybe,” he told her.

“Chao?”

“I don’t break promises, Sharkbite. You know this.”

“Chao…” She floated down on top of Shadow’s stomach. He petted her gently, stroking her cheek. She purred. She caught sight of the Maria doll and picked it up.

Shadow smiled softly. “I guess you have a new friend,” he said. “If you’re as much like me as you seem, the two of you will get along well.” He shut his eyes, Sharkbite and the Maria still resting on him, and he wondered when Rouge would call him today and ask to do something. He supposed it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. There were worse things out there. Yet, amazingly, he seemed to have more good things than terrible things. What a surprise.


End file.
